Congress vitiating atmosphere in Punjab, alleges Badal

Pathankot: Congress was vitiating the atmosphere in Punjab by making provocative statements, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday alleged and warned this could lead to unrest and put the country`s national security at peril.

Badal asked Congress to "desist from such nefarious designs as these could trigger off a situation of unrest and communal tension in the state which could be further exploited by our hostile neighbour Pakistan thereby putting the national security in peril."

"Out of sheer frustration of being out of power, Congress is stirring up religious sentiments of the people by issuing provocative statements just to malign the sanguine image of the SAD-BJP alliance which is committed to preserve the hard earned peace and harmony in Punjab at all costs," he told reporters here.

Addressing media on the sidelines of the Vikas Rally organised by the BJP, Badal said that "Congress was bent upon to disturb the peace and amity in the state by raising the bogey of terrorism in the state and by raking up inflammatory issues to satisfy its lust for power."

Asked to comment on the possibility of SAD joining third front, likely to be mooted by the President of Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief minister rejected it, saying that SAD would always stood firmly by NDA and our alliance with BJP-led NDA was based on principles & ethics and was not just a matter of convenience.

On the issue of starting construction work of prestigious Shahpur Kandi Barrage, Badal said that it was the SAD-BJP government which completed the prestigious Shahpur Kandi project and now it was duty bound to honour its commitment to ensure early completion of Shahpur Kandi Barrage as the global tenders have already been floated.

Earlier, addressing the public gathering, the chief minister announced that the state government would give jobs to one member of all the oustees families of Shahpur Kandi and Ranjit Sagar Dam from the cut-off-date on which their land was acquired from time to time for this project as way back in 1973, 1985 and 1990.

This decision would benefit about 500 families which had been demanding this issue to the resolved since long.